It is known to provide housings for electrical components and also provide a package including a housing receiving the component and a closure for covering the component after assembly. However, such packages require that the leads be assembled to the component either prior to assembly of the component and package, or simultaneously with such assembly. This requires that the assembled component and leads be assembled and subsequently handled as a unit as well as requiring that the lead length be predetermined.
It is often desirable for ease of handling and protection from the environment to package electrical components, such as diodes, resistors and the like in an assembly that houses the component, as well as making electrical connection with it. In such a package assembly, an insulating housing contains the component and also contains terminals to make electrical contact with leads of the component, and it is necessary to somehow retain those terminals in the housing.
Existing U.S. patents illustrate several examples of such packaging assemblies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,018,981 to Hawkins discloses a packaging assembly with an insulating housing 12 that receives an electrical component 36. The housing 12 also includes passages that receive a pair of terminals 52, which make electrical contact with the component 36. The terminals 52 are mechanically locked into the housing 12 by projections 82 on a cover 16 hinged to part of the housing 12. When the cover is snapped into place, the projections 82 prevent the terminals 52 from being withdrawn. Although providing effective packaging, the Hawkins device is a dedicated structure, which does not lend itself to compact design and combination with other circuit elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,001 to Hikami shows a package device with an insulating body 1 having a cavity 3 that receives the body 4 of a component that has a pair of leads 8 extending out to the sides. After the component is in place, a pair of terminals 9 are pushed down into parallel grooves 2 on either side of the cavity 3 to make contact with the leads 8. In a separate operation, the terminals 9 are then bowed down so that tabs 13 thereon may be resiliently inserted into undercuts 5 in the grooves 2. A great drawback of this structure is that the package has to be disassembled, by taking the terminals 9 out, before the component can be removed. This is a great disadvantage if the component is one that may frequently need to be changed, like a diode in a current suppression device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,885 to Nestor et al. discloses improved means for mechanically locking the terminals to the package assembly. A package assembly 10 defines a cavity 24, which receives an electrical component 12 such as a diode, which makes contact between a pair of terminals 20 and is affixed within slots 32 formed in terminal flanges 30. This locks the terminals 20 from removal from the housing 18. A cavity cover 34 is snap fitted to the housing 18 after the diode 12 has been installed to further protect the diode. The undersurface of the cover 34 engages the diode body to assure that it is properly seated within the cavity. The apparatus described by Nestor, although representing an improvement over prior designs, requires an extremely complex housing 18 configuration, which is expensive to tool and produce. The cover 34, being a separate part, can be misassembled or not included in a final assembly, leading to quality problems. The snap fit feature is not a robust design inasmuch as its integral engagement tabs can fail if subjected to abuse or frequent replacement of the diode 12. The housing design requires access from the side, which can present problems for installation and servicing, especially in applications where the housing 18 is incorporated within a larger structure. Complexity of shape and positioning of housing openings is also problematic for affecting a reliable environmental seal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,386,818 to Millhimes et al. shows a two-piece connector 1 & 3 for battery jumper cables including a two state LED device 49 which provides a green light when the cables 5 & 7 are connected to a battery with polarity in the manner stated on the connector 1 & 3 and a red light when the polarity is reversed. The circuitry is contained in an indented upper section 35 having a pair of apertures 37 and 39 therein which extend into the hollow interior region 17. A pair of displacement contacts 41 and 43 are positioned in the apertures 37 and 39 respectively. A cover 55 closes the LED device 49 within the indented upper section 35. As in the case of the Nestor apparatus described herein above, the Millhimes apparatus employs a housing, which is complex and expensive to produce.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,319 to Gladd et al. discloses a diode package 10, which is interconnected between matable plug and socket connectors, 70 and 72, respectively, of wiring harnesses. The diode package 10 comprises a connector body 12 housing a subassembly 14 comprising a pair of hermaphroditic terminals 42 and 44 connected to the leads of a diode 43. The connector body has socket and plug portions 18 and 16, respectively, at opposite ends which are shaped to mate in an inverted relationship. The hermaphroditic terminals 42 and 44 are of opposite hand and each has box-like female and male blade contacts 46 and 48, respectively, at opposite ends which are shaped to mate in an inverted relationship. The Gladd device, although affording convenient mechanical insertion and removal from a host wiring harness, has shortcomings in certain applications. It adds axial length to the combined structure, which can raise packaging issues. It adds additional components and cost. It adds an additional set of contacts, which can contribute to system voltage drop and inter-contact corrosion, both of which can degrade overall system performance. The diode 43 is not independently serviceable inasmuch as its leads are permanently crimped at crimp barrels 52 and 54. This requires replacement of the entire diode package whenever service is required. Finally, it requires an additional plug/socket interface, providing a potential leak path for water or contaminants.
The present invention overcomes the forgoing difficulties of installing and servicing electrical components housed within connector assemblies by having a mating connector body and the electrical component access the same opening within the connector housing. The invention allows employing standard connector housing configurations with standard seals and interlocks without adding cost or complexity of design.